Recent Updates

Implementation issues in India’s GST
Indian Economy | Economic Reforms | Sustainable Development Jun 23, 2017

Implementation issues in India’s GST

ndia is attempting to introduce a streamlined tax system to handle indirect taxation within the country. While the new system has been acknowledged as beneficial in a number of ways, there remain concerns regarding its implementation. If handled poorly, this tax reform could have long-term ...

India-Russia military-technical cooperation: Beyond commercial relations
Indian Foreign Policy | Great Power Dynamics | Defence and Security Jun 22, 2017

India-Russia military-technical cooperation: Beyond commercial relations

The India-Russia military technical relationship has withstood the test of time. Despite strains since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the relationship has remained highly critical both in terms of the level of trust between the two states and the imperatives of sustaining a military-technical ...

E-commerce and the digital economy: How the G20 can help Africa overcome its digital divide
Media and Internet Jun 21, 2017

E-commerce and the digital economy: How the G20 can help Africa overcome its digital divide

Africa is facing a digital divide. Access to the internet and related digital services is low, and in most countries, the supporting regulatory framework is not in place; nor are the necessary data and logistics infrastructure. At the same time, there are various examples of ...

Preventing hunger and malnutrition in India
Healthcare | Sustainable Development Jun 09, 2017

Preventing hunger and malnutrition in India

The prevalence of malnutrition—encompassing both undernutrition and overnutrition—is an important indicator of a country’s health. Those who are either undernourished or are obese underperform in various aspects of life, missing out on opportunities to become productive members of society. India is among those countries in ...

India-Russia economic and energy cooperation: The way ahead
Indian Foreign Policy | Economic Diplomacy Jun 07, 2017

India-Russia economic and energy cooperation: The way ahead

Economic ties were the cornerstone of Indo-Soviet relations. Even the 1971 Indo-Soviet Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation, which was essentially of a political-security nature, stressed upon “economic, scientific and technological cooperation”.[1] Although the India-Russia ties in general survived the upheavals of the early 1990s, economic relations ...

Examining the limitations of India’s online visa regime
International Trade and Investment | Sustainable Development May 30, 2017

Examining the limitations of India’s online visa regime

In November 2014, India introduced a visa facility allowing foreign travellers wanting to come to India for recreational purposes, casual visits with friends or relatives, short-duration medical treatment or business visits, to apply for their visa online. Since then, the government has taken specific initiatives ...

The enduring relevance of India-Russia relations
Indian Foreign Policy | Great Power Dynamics May 25, 2017

The enduring relevance of India-Russia relations

The impact of Indo-Russian relations on the domestic and foreign policies of India from the 1960s is difficult to underestimate. The USSR was instrumental in helping independent India industrialise, develop its scientific potential, and defend its territorial integrity. The Indo-Russian relationship developed a level of ...

The four faces of 21st century Asian geopolitics
International Affairs | Great Power Dynamics May 11, 2017

The four faces of 21st century Asian geopolitics

As global geopolitics enters a multipolar era, there is a need to assess the extent to which strategic concepts from the bipolar era remain valid and useful. In this brief, the notion of a ‘strategic triangle’, which became prominent during the Cold War, is extended ...

War on drugs: Challenges for the Punjab government
Domestic Politics and Governance May 09, 2017

War on drugs: Challenges for the Punjab government

Most analysts agree that a dangerous mix of demand, supply and currency is responsible for Punjab’s drug menace. Punjab is both a transit point and a market for the drugs smuggled from the so-called Golden Crescent that is Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran. While the heroin ...

Privacy and security risks of digital payments
Privacy & Data Protection May 09, 2017

Privacy and security risks of digital payments

Digital financial services have benefits but pose privacy risks that harm consumers, merchants, markets, and nations alike. Some payments systems in India suffer from vulnerabilities because they were not prospectively designed on the basis of the ‘privacy by design’ principle. At the back-end, the centralised ...